Recent editorials from Florida newspapers:
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May 27
The Miami Herald on Gov. Rick Scott and the “River of Grass:”
Last month, we praised the Florida Senate for “getting it.” We urged the House to follow suit and, fortunately, lawmakers there got it, too. We talking about nothing less than ensuring the lasting health and vitality of the Everglades and, therefore, the health and vitality of South Floridians.
Earlier this month, Gov. Rick Scott, too, affirmed just how important the River of Grass is to Florida, and signed a bill that will lead to the creation of a desperately needed reservoir that will store billions of gallons of water and redirect it south to replenish the Everglades. It’s just our source of drinking water, after all.
This victory has been 17 years in the making, progressing in fits and starts, stalling, then, in the most recent legislative session, ably powered through by Senate President Joe Negron.
After a political slog of almost two decades, the reservoir, finally, is a giant step closer to becoming reality. Mother Nature, and Florida’s inability to counter its onslaught of rain that last year raised Lake Okeechobee to worrisome levels, gave the initiative a big boost. Water flushed east and west created a mess of blue-green algae on the coasts, especially in Negron territory.
But, the win in the Legislature aside, we’re not there yet in terms of bringing a reservoir on line.
That’s why it is imperative for the governor and the agencies that now must step up to keep the pressure on to ensure this crowning legislative achievement is realized. In fact, there are some key deadlines embedded in the law, and coming up very soon, that must be met if the process is to proceed smoothly - which it should.
On July 1, the South Florida Water Management District must notify businesses on state land, most notably, Big Sugar, that those leases will be terminated. These properties will be used to create the reservoir. Right now, the sugar industry leases about 22,000 acres. Some, though not necessarily all of it, will go toward the reservoir, including 3,000 acres on which the Department of Corrections harvests sugar. There should be no surprises or pushback on this score. Negron was meticulous enough to craft this legislation with input from all the stakeholders, including the sugar industry. Indeed, there are job-creating and economic development opportunities to ensure that displaced workers have a shot at re-employment. Smart.
On Aug. 2, the Water Management District and the Army Corps must start the process of pulling together a report that they will give to Congress. They’ll have to outline all the particulars: how much land will be used for the reservoir; how deep the thing will be; and that water-quality standards will not be compromised. This is required by the federal Water Resources Development Act. Congress will have to authorize the project for it to receive federal funding - which, again, it should. The state and federal governments are to split the $2.4 billion cost.
And on Jan. 9, another, similar report must be submitted to the Florida Legislature, which will then allow the state to put even more funding toward the project - which, if needed, would be well advised.
After all that, what with paperwork and bidding and such, earth-moving equipment still might not get to work until 2020, with the reservoir operational three to four years later.
So, the sense of urgency remains. The governor must keep the pressure on - the Everglades doesn’t have another 17 years to wait.
Online: https://www.miamiherald.com/
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May 30
The Orlando Sentinel on the state budget:
Suspense is building as Florida awaits action from Gov. Rick Scott on the $82.4 billion budget that legislators passed by large margins in both chambers earlier this month. Scott has made no secret of his unhappiness with legislators’ refusal to meet his funding requests for several of his top priorities, including the state’s economic-development and tourism-promotion agencies. The governor also has rightly chastised legislators for pint-sizing his proposed increase in spending for public schools.
Scott’s grousing about the budget has fed speculation that he might veto the whole thing and force legislators to start over. But there’s no telling whether that veto would survive an override vote by legislators - and if it does, whether a veto would ultimately produce a spending plan that better matches his priorities. It could risk a state government shutdown if legislators can’t finish before the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
Ultimately, Florida would be better off if the governor were to take a scalpel, not an ax, to the budget, vetoing line items instead of the entire document.
We have already urged Scott to reject a massive $419 million, 278-page education bill. Dozens of significant changes affecting public schools were cynically combined with sweetheart provisions for privately run charter schools in a take-it-or-leave-it package assembled behind closed doors. On Tuesday, the First Amendment Foundation also called on the governor to veto the bill, pointing out that “the secretive process precluded any opportunity for public oversight or input on major changes to Florida’s education policy.”
Scott would also be wise to veto the portion of the budget that slashed funding for state colleges by $30 million because of a drop in enrollment for remedial education courses. But Florida’s public colleges already operate on lean budgets, and they’re vital both for job training and for admission to public universities. Slashing funding for college computer classes, tutors and other support services could undercut their important work.
If Scott is looking for additional opportunities to strike a blow for a more open budget process and trim state spending, another group - the business-oriented budget watchdogs at Florida TaxWatch - has given him a good road map. TaxWatch has again compiled a list of budget “turkeys,” an annual exercise it began in 1983, to highlight spending items that were not properly vetted.
This year’s list of 111 turkeys is worth almost $178 million. Compared with other years, it’s a shorter, less costly list. House Speaker Richard Corcoran deserves credit for telling his members before this year’s session began that they would have to submit any requests for funding for projects as legislation, and subject it to scrutiny in committee. Senate leaders also required requests in their chamber to be put in writing. A few projects still got slipped into the budget at the last minute - and ended up on the turkey list that way - but fewer than in typical years.
On the other hand, Corcoran and Senate President Joe Negron also deserve criticism for working out differences in other parts of the budget - not just education, but also health and human services - in private meetings. It’s an insult to taxpayers for legislators to reach decisions of this magnitude outside of public view.
Most of the Taxwatch turkeys - $141 million worth - were transportation projects that weren’t included in the state Department of Transportation’s work plan. Legislative leaders like to argue that it’s better left to them, rather than unelected bureaucrats, to direct state spending. But the Florida DOT puts together its work plan in a more methodical, less parochial process by consulting with federal transportation officials, metropolitan planning organizations and local governments.
Finally, we urge Scott to resist the temptation to use his line-item veto authority to settle scores with political opponents. He owes it to Floridians to evaluate spending proposals based on their merits, and not on how well he got along with the legislators behind them.
Even wielding his veto pen selectively, Scott could still free hundreds of millions of dollars to invest in the future in areas that legislators shortchanged - starting with education.
Online: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/
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May 30
The Florida Times-Union of Jacksonville on allegations that Florida prisons are abusing disabled inmates:
Florida’s prison system seems to be incapable of dealing with the needs of many of its disabled prisoners.
This inability has led to a litany of abuse complaints from inmates that have resulted in a lawsuit against the state.
“The Florida Department of Corrections has been fighting compliance (with the Americans with Disability Act) for years,” says Randall Berg, an attorney with the Florida Justice Institute who helped file the lawsuit. “All we’re seeking is compliance with the law.”
The complaints that form the basis for the lawsuit are often shocking. They range from antiquated prisons that don’t comply with accessibility requirements to staff members who refuse to allow inmates the use of prosthetic limbs.
And what has been detailed in the lawsuit filed against the Florida Department of Corrections by Disability Rights Florida and others early this year apparently is not rare.
Two recent studies show that disabled federal inmates across the country are also denied the services and accommodations they should have access to under the Americans with Disability Act.
“(Prisons) are not even remotely equipped to deal,” Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, disability advocate, told PBS. Mizrahi’s group, RespectAbility, issued one of the studies and estimates that around one in three inmates have at least one disability, including mental illness.
A report by another organization, American Progress, showed many disabled inmates are inappropriately held in solitary confinement, often for their own protection from both other inmates and correctional officers themselves.
We don’t need to go to other states to see that occurring.
Two cases in point involve the fatal gassing of disabled Florida inmates by correctional officers. The first inmate suffered a genetic blood disorder for which he was denied treatment, according to a subsequent lawsuit, while the second suffered from asthma, a condition known by the officers who gassed him and the nurse who authorized it.
LAWSUIT OUTLINES COMPLAINTS
In Florida, the 32 disabled prisoners’ complaints are detailed in the 123-page lawsuit.
. A wheelchair-bound inmate placed in solitary confinement was denied use of his wheelchair.
. Prosthetic limbs were taken away from inmates by staff.
. Hearing-impaired prisoners were refused replacement batteries for hearing aids.
. An inmate with severe birth defects who was given a choice either to keep his two prosthetic legs or his wheelchair. The same inmate was assigned the top bunk, from which he subsequently fell.
These kinds of problems are endemic within this state’s prison system. Not only do the difficulties often lead to an inmate’s exclusion from work programs and services, they also may systematically prevent disabled inmates from successfully reintegrating back into the community.
WILL DOC COMPLY?
The recent lawsuit doesn’t mark the first time the state has been brought to task for failing to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
All the lawsuit asks is that the Florida Department of Corrections comply with ADA requirements.
Seems simple, doesn’t it?
“It’s a no-brainer for some people but for the Florida Department of Corrections it’s not,” attorney Berg says.
And there will most certainly be more.
It’s high time that the state recognizes its deficiencies in dealing with its disabled inmates and rectify the situation.
Online: https://jacksonville.com/
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